Star Trek: Rebellion
by jlchef64
Summary: Teenager James Kirk embarks on a rebellious adventure.
1. Chapter 1

REBELLION

Chapter 1

James Tiberius Kirk was not happy with his parents. George held him to standards that only left him with something inside that made him want to run. Winona left the planet to do research leaving he and Sam to fend for themselves.

When George was home, there was law and order in the house, but his missions kept him away most of the time leaving both of them to the limits of their imagination. Sam was his older brother, but he had no imagination for the more aggressive activities only Jim liked to engage in.

Dad had left for the gamma quadrant last week, and was scheduled to remain on this outgoing mission for 6 months. All he did to monitor them was check their alpha studies once a week, and send holograms about his missions, and demanding updates a couple times a week. This left most of the week for Jim to "use" some of dad's toys.

Riverside Iowa wasn't exactly Jim's idea of a great place to live, and it left him in need of high adventure. Four years ago, he had pushed his dad's corvette to the limit with the police hot on his heels. Hitting the brakes and spinning the wheel at the last second (a second too late) made the need for jumping from the vehicle before it went over dead man's cliff essential.

George had insurance on it anyway, and these days, auto replacement was a snap with matter generators and smart materials, so he got away with a slap on the wrist, and a grounding. The grounding was something only for show to the police and Jim knew it was something that had already passed.

Technology had made the need for air travel optional, as the latest tech included transporter pods in every house in America. Now there was no need to fly unless the sensation of flying was desired. Jim had always kind of favored it to the transporter because he could use his air bike to soar at speeds which left him in need of an oxygen mask.

Today was different though. Today he wanted to take Aria to the Star Fleet Academy in San Francisco. He figured taking her there would impress her, and also increase his chances at a second date. Watching the big ships come in, and the shuttle traffic was something he never got tired of, and it fueled his imagination from being stuck on planet Earth, to traveling to the stars and beyond.

He knew it would take 1000 credits to use the vehicle transporter for Aria, He, and the bike. He also knew it might be a stretch on this day, to talk her into it. They had grown up together as neighbors, and Hall Park was a great local playground to head to using their hover boards as children, but things were changing, and they both began to see things a little differently lately.

As he approached her door, the anxiety was building in his heart, but he was headstrong and the need to knock was stronger than the want to run and hide.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aria answered the door with an enthusiastic "JIM, how's it going today". Jim said: "Hey Ari, I was wondering if you'd like to go on a surprise trip today. I was thinking we could take the air bike and transport to someplace that you might be interested in?" Aria thought for a moment, and said "well, my mom and I were going to transport to Chicago to do some shopping, but I'm sure it isn't a major deal to change it, how long were you thinking?". Jim said: "I thought we might go for the day, but it must remain a surprise until we get there." "It's far enough that we have to use the vehicle transport station downtown though, interested?" Aria responded: "Sure, I just want to let Mom know."

She disappeared, and returned a moment later saying; "She says it's alright, as long as we're back by this evening."

As she ran out excitedly, the automatic sliding door swished behind her, as she pushed into Jim and ran past.

Soon they began walking back to the Kirk household, they held hands as the proximity button on Jim's belt opened the garage door to expose the now returned corvette in mint condition. Alongside it was Jim's favorite and most prized possession, his air bike! It was a twin turbine wonder with a cockpit for two, one in front, and one in back.

The day was beautiful, Aria was next to him, and now he was faced with only one problem; Dad. He had given Jim the word, and the word was NO. One look into Aria's face gave him the only things he needed – Her, and the adventure. It seemed he would always be at odds with his eccentric father, but they shared the same gene for adventure, and right now they weren't seeing eye to eye, and Jim had little time to think about the consequences.

He told Aria, "Hop on" to which she excitedly did. He hit the switch, and the turbines began to spool up until the high pitched whine began to provide lift. As Jim eased the thrust lever back with the heel of his right foot, the bike slowly backed out of the garage. As soon as it cleared, he immediately pushed down hard with the toe of his left foot, and they both sagged in the seats as the G-forces were set in motion.

The Kirk house, and then the whole town seemed to fall away from them rapidly, as they roared straight up; the big twins firing up to their full level now. He then pressed forward very hard with his right foot and the craft blistered forward. Aria squealed with delight as she held on around Jim's waste for all she was worth. "Jim where are we going, I thought we were headed for the transport station?" Said Aria. He hollered back: "I thought we'd go for a spin first"

As the air speed began to pick up, Jim flipped a toggle switch on the steering yoke, and the shield canopy enveloped them. They were now in a pressurized, breathable cabin, and both looked down on the fast fading town below.

Jim switched on GPS tracking, and punched in Chicago. In the good old days, a trip to Chicago from Riverside took almost 6 hours, but He had in the grip of his hands, a machine which was capable of traveling 300 miles per hour, at heights the old passenger planes used to fly in. Today he just wanted to open it up and fly close enough to the ground to leave a shock trail behind them. It really didn't matter if he added an hour to their trip because he was engrossed in the raw power and speed of moving across the landscape at a pace that left both of them breathless!

He loved making Aria scream in delight, and this was a perfect opportunity to hone his skills!

The bike's pedals were rocker arm type, so all Jim had to do was rock his left foot back, and the bike began a gut wrenching drop that was just short of a free-fall. As they were falling, Jim rocked his right foot forward, turned the steering yoke to the right, and eased his left foot forward as the ground approached. It gave them both the feel of a great rollercoaster ride, similar to some of the syntho rides at Goldie's both Jim and Aria used to share together when they were 10 years old.

The bike leveled off at 60 ft above the surface of the sun-baked Iowa farmland as he applied pressure to the forward motion with his right foot. Soon they were skimming across so fast that the houses and fields were beginning to blur at this level, so Jim gave them some lift to 200 feet just in case. The GPS "air tracker" plotted a course for Chicago, and monitored their progress, as the blue dot followed the red "air trail" on the screen.

As the bike turbines opened fully, the proximity to the ground began to open up a wake in the corn fields below. If the local farmers got hold of him, he knew they would probably ring his neck. Aria was laughing in excitement as the pull of the G Force against their bodies eventually leveled out, and her body once again came in contact with Jim's, her favorite place!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aria had never given a lot of thought to what Jim might be thinking, at least in the romantic aspect, until recently. As School had just let out, this summer was going to be different with him, she could just feel it, and that excited her, and also got her feeling apprehensive about the future.

She knew instinctively that he wasn't like a lot of the other boys at school. He seemed, in her mind at least, to be the type who would one day get off Earth and venture to the stars just like his dad had done. No, Jim seemed like the kind of guy who lived life on this jet fueled, hair on fire machine that was now moving so fast that nothing seemed real below them.

His idea of a great time, was doing what they were doing right here, right now, and She knew it. It thrilled her that he had bigger plans, even if it might not include her. She had thought about the high adventure of space travel, and the lure was always there; Space Academy, training, graduating, picking a field, and being commissioned onto a Starship? All of that just seemed too far away in her mind at the moment; she just wanted to live for the moment, and this was the moment with him.

Her thoughts wandered back to study hall in high school, and the recent way in which he looked at her. He usually sat across from her by the windows, and he always seemed preoccupied with being someplace else. The last six months or so, he had been watching her, she could feel his eyes on her and it wasn't totally unwelcome.

They had always been able to talk about anything, until recently. Jim seemed to clam up, or get clumsy when he was around her. His words seemed to stumble sometimes, and he was acting more awkward these days. It was a great feeling to be invited along on this adventure though, as the sun was high now, and there didn't appear to be a cloud in the sky!

Her thoughts about him were changing too. Maybe they were both just growing up, and seeing each other like they hadn't before. They had begun dating formally almost three months ago when he had asked her to the Prom. Their night was magical together; the hover limo ride, the decorations, the dance, and of course the kiss at the end of the night.

Jim had been a perfect gentleman, and she had accepted his kiss with a sweet intensity at her parent's door. All these things were rolling through her mind as she rested her head on his back, and snuggled into him.

Jim had been thinking too! He had been thinking about what had transpired with his dad, the argument they had over his actions lately, and the crushing grip his dad seemed to want to levy on him. So he had come home later than he was expected a couple of times (More like ten too many), he had come home in one piece hadn't he? Ok, then there was the car. That incident seemed to never go away, and was constantly being brought up in arguments. George Kirk was a disciplinarian who constantly reminded Jim about what it would take to succeed in life, and right now Jim really wanted none of it!

His thoughts were moving in a direction which began to consume him, so he dropped both feet forward and pulled the yoke back hard and to the right. The bike's response time in gripping them hard was just what he needed right now! The ground once again left them, and the bike's altimeter was registering 200 km/second as they went into a skyward spiral which was dizzying to say the least, and pumping the adrenaline he desperately needed right now! Both of them felt the immediate G-Force as Aria screamed, holding more tightly to him, and shutting her eyes.

The bike was rolling now and was still climbing straight up into the heavens as Jim put the yoke back to the neutral position. This leveled out the rolling as he gently pushed the stick straight forward and moved both feet to the neutral position as well. They were now slowing and stabilizing at fifteen thousand kilometers. It never ceased to amaze him how this thing maneuvered.

He had wanted to really impress himself upon Aria, and show her that he was truly the person to be with (As most teen men do). Other guys were grounded in the local gossip, farming, or the local hangouts, but to become bigger than life with her, it required so much more to cement the relationship in his mind.

The bike began to slow with all controls at neutral, and within two or three minutes, had slowed until it came to a stop in mid air, hovering. Once stopped he turned his head back, hit the shield button and shut off the canopy shield. He once again turned to her, his eyes met hers, and moved towards her in a rushing, but gentle kiss which lasted only a couple of seconds.

He pulled back slowly, and said: "How do you like the ride so far? To which she responded: "I would just like my stomach back if you don't mind Mr. Kirk!"

Jim stood up in the seat and changed his position so he faced her directly now, kissed her again and then said: "Watch this!" He leaned to his right, gave her his best smirk, and let gravity pull him off the bike...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lenny McCoy had known Jim Kirk since attending Space Academy Camp about 6 years earlier, and every year since. He thought back now, to all the situations Jim had talked him into in the time he knew him, and where it might lead today. That thought made him shudder, but he had grown accustomed to Jim's over- confidence, which in turn gave him confidence in much of what they did together.

He and Jim had become fast friends as they were bunkmates in the Alpha Barracks that third year. The routine of camp life had gotten more and more boring each year they came back. This year Jim had assured him things would be different! Sure they had both participated in camp activities, and Jim really liked "Transporter Drop"(an activity in which camp cadets stood on a platform, and were beamed ten thousand meters into the air, did a free fall, were re-acquired on the transporter scopes within 1000 feet of hitting the ground, and transported safely back on the platform) and both liked air coaster (a form of roller coaster where computer controlled thrusters controlled a free air train with no girders, and no gravity, doing spins and loops; all coaster tracks being virtual), but Jim liked the feeling of flight most of all.

Lenny was a bit older than Jim, so he took an immediate "big brother approach" with him by attempting to give the young Kirk some advice every time the opportunity arose. Jim was very headstrong though, and usually drew the lead in any activities they both decided to participate in.

This didn't stop McCoy from continually attempting to provide life saving advice in "situations"; take for instance that time Jim took off the safety's on the space flight simulator in the recreation area. Jim had convinced him to go in and try it on "off time", as it was much too restrictive with the lame instruction they had received from the camp staff earlier that day.

The object was to attempt to pilot, and co-pilot a space shuttle under camp supervisor command via remote override. Each "Camp Cadet" two person team, was given an opportunity to attempt to actually fly a space shuttle in holo-cubes. The safety's were put in place, to keep the shuttle in a seventy by seventy by seventy meter cube with real flight, and simulated altitudes. This gave the Cadets an opportunity to feel real flight in the safety of a projected landscape cube which provided the "feel" of reality, without the actual dangers of the real thing. At worst, the buckled in students would lose control of the craft inside the cube, and the camp instructor would override, and land the craft safely via remote control.

Jim had taken to the flight controls like a fish to water in Lenny's mind, and it was his job to navigate the cruiser. The lift levers felt good in Jim's hands, and he eased them off the ground as the instructor looked on. Jim instinctively knew the instructor was going to hinder what he really wanted to do, and that was to learn it like the back of his hand. This couldn't happen under the protective cover of this stupid holo-cube. The real flight would have to wait in Jim's mind, until that night, but the instructor would be oblivious to all of it.

The flight was short lived, and Jim and Lenny did their perspective "jobs" in lifting off, maneuvering, and flying in cyberspace. Both young men liked the feel of real flight, but Jim felt it would be so much better to actually fly this craft with Leo. This wasn't going to happen under camp rules, and they both knew it. At some point in the flight, a hasty thought crossed Jim's mind, and he knew he was going to fly this bird for real!

Jim had shaken Lenny out of a dead sleep later that night, raised his finger to his mouth and whispered: "Let's go". McCoy rubbed his eyes blearily, and told Him he was crazy. "Jim, we can't do this" he whispered, as he was already moving to catch up to him after clumsily fumbling for his clothes. Kirk said: "Sure we can Leo, they will never find out we took it".

"This is NOT a good idea Jim, we could get into some serious trouble if we're caught," McCoy said. "Relax" Jim said: "We'll be up and into the air, and back before anyone knows we're gone".

Both young men sneaked out of the barracks, and across the camp yard. Soon they were sprinting towards the shuttle area, which was out beyond the compound. The thrill of doing something they both knew would be the end of their camp days together if caught, was overwhelming as Jim found the display console for the Holo-cubes, and flipped them on.

"Let's do this" said Jim, as he began firing up the control console.

The light blue display showed various control buttons for the cubes including safety protocol lockouts. Jim had a knack for hacking computers, and access to the older beta systems was his specialty. After 5 attempts, a warm smile grew on his face as the words "access granted" appeared on the screen before him.

Jim told McCoy to take "Copernicus" as it had been the same shuttle they had used this morning, and Jim felt this was also the shuttle he was most familiar with.

The lockouts ensured the safety cube would remain in place on each of the six craft. Jim pushed the lockout button for Copernicus, and the lockout display went from green, to flashing red. He then left the console, and headed for the shuttle.

McCoy was already inside, and going through the start up sequence they had learned about in the last few days. Jim sat down next to him at the flight console, and activated the touch screen. On it, he pushed the virtual button "stealth mode". As the core came to life, it sounded like it quit for a moment; Jim and Lenny looked at each other, and then a look of satisfaction crossed McCoy's face when he realized that the stealth mode was working. Jim grinned as this would keep things quiet as they departed.

Jim lightly moved the levers forward, and the craft was wobbly under the poor piloting skills of a novice, to say the least. This was his first open shuttle flight attempt, and Jim hit the thrusters, and angle of ascent levers. For the first time in his life, he was in full control of a spacecraft!

Immediately the craft began a sideways skid to the right, and Kirk tried to correct it, overcorrecting back to the left and up. He pushed the lever on the left up slightly. McCoy's eyes went wide with horror as the tree-line was fast approaching in the moonlight. "Jim, pull up, pull up" he said as Jim's left hand was frantically pushing console buttons to correct it.

The bottom of the craft broke off the tips of pine trees, scraping under it, and jolted it in a forward tilting motion which threw Kirk and McCoy out of their seats. As they bounced off the roof of the craft, both pushed off to try to gain control as it was now diving towards the lake which sat adjacent to the camp.

They were coming in hard and fast, too fast, the sudden swoosh of water halted them temporarily as both young men were now thrown into the very front of the bay windows.

The weight of the craft and the momentum of the crash had put the entire shuttle almost instantly ten meters down. As this craft was meant for space travel, they were perfectly safe and Jim knew it. What he didn't know is how they had survived it, and what kind of shape the shuttle was in.

Pulling themselves off the front console, Jim said "Are you alright Leo?" McCoy answered "Yeah, I think I got a couple of bumps and bruises, but I'll live; maybe?"

Reseating themselves as the shuttle continued to sink, Jim looked at the altimeter reading; minus sixty meters and no bottom yet. "Let's see if we can slowly stabilize this thing" said Jim. "You take navigation, and I'll get us out of this".

Their ears began to pop as the water pressure began to build. "Leo, see if you can find the pressure controls" said Jim, as McCoy began desperately to relieve the pain. Finding the pressure modulator button, McCoy compensated and everything began to calm for both young men.

With that, Jim regained his composure, and feathered the controls. The altimeter slowed to neutral buoyancy, and began to climb, the warp pods barely whispering. When they reached the surface, Jim tried once again to lift the craft out of the water. They would now have to play hovercraft, as Jim had seen enough adventure with this crazy machine for one night.

He edged up the levers and the shuttle moved 4 meters off the water. They were now hovering, and he asked McCoy to give them the exact coordinates back to the shuttle area. McCoy gave them to him, and he punched the automatic setting in for "return". Now the craft plotted its way back over the water, around the wooded area, up the beach, and landed safely where it had been before it had all begun.

After putting his feet on dry ground and both exited the vehicle, McCoy gave Kirk a look and said: "Let's go for a ride he says, it'll be adventurous he says, we'll have a few laughs he says." Kirk laughed and said "wasn't it great!" McCoy looked at him a moment, marveled at the confident crasher, and chuckled nervously.

Now McCoy grinned as those memories came back to him. Yes; that was, and still is the insanity of James T. Kirk; his best friend. They had gotten away with it; well, at least no one said anything about it, and yet, there were those broken tree tops no one seemed to know anything about. He smiled again at the thought.

This morning Jim had called him, and asked him if he wanted to double date; Jim and Aria, and He and Alicia. McCoy had wanted to take Janice someplace special, and the Space Port seemed like the perfect spot, although they were not going to get there by transporter. Lenny didn't trust the technology, ever!

He didn't fully understand it, but from what he gathered, the transporters broke down a human body to the molecular level, scrambled the atoms into a million pieces, and reassembled them again at another location. The mere thought of it nauseated him; he thought it more akin to a train wreck, or an old time plane crash every time he stepped onto one of those dag bloom transport pads.

Jim wanted to meet them both there at 10:00 this morning, so both McCoy and Ali jumped on the mag-lev train to help with Jim's surprise for Aria.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jim loved to feel the open air on his face as he peeled through the air at one hundred ninety-three kilometers per hour in a free fall. It reminded him of his camp adventures with Leo, and he let out an ecstatic "WHOO HOO!"

He was totally weightless, and easily flipped over on his back to see Aria and the bike grow smaller in the sky. He didn't have an altimeter, and right now he didn't care. He knew he only had about a minute before gravity would end him, so he chose to flip back over and watch the ground below rise to meet him. It never got old for him, as the wind ripped waves of skin over his face.

The body scan the bike had taken of him in order to start it up when they left this morning, was now tracking, or "tethering" him. He had silently pushed the touch screen button showing the "grav/tether" before jumping off the bike to shock Aria! The bike went on auto, and had begun the drop within ten seconds of Jim's drop. Aria's eyes went wide and her mouth let out an involuntary scream as the drop left her stomach where the bike had been.

With the canopy shield deactivated, her body started to lift off the seat, but was quickly but firmly sucked back into place by the "grav/tether" activator. She was now in the open air, falling with it as Jim suddenly appeared in the distance.

The foot levers and yoke took on a life of their own as the turbines barely spooled up much higher than they had been in a hover mode above. The yoke went forward and to the left slightly, and maneuvered toward Jim beginning to match his velocity.

The landscape was now growing larger under him as he looked off to his left and saw the bike coming nearer like some sort of extraterrestrial bug looming larger in the distance. As he continued to watch, the bike now moved under him about ten meters below him.

He simply let the air do the work in changing his body posture, and met the bike in a seated position, as he kissed the seat with his backside. He then spooled up the turbines, flipped the canopy switch, flipped off the grav/tether switch, and leveled off at full power within 1500 meters off the flat field beneath them in a wave of forward momentum.

"Want to try it?" he asked, as he turned back to Aria with a smile; "It's quite an adrenaline rush". "I think I just did" she said; "can we stop with the rollercoaster ride now?" She beat on his back with her fists, "James Tiberius Kirk!" "Don't ever do that again!"

He laughed at first, and then said: I'm sorry Ari, I had some things on my mind, and I just wanted to relieve some stress." Aria nodded and said "fine, but you don't have to kill us both in the process, right?" Jim nodded.

He slowed, turned, and kissed her. She responded, and kissed him back. He then cupped her chin in his hand, and said "I enjoy our time together, and I'm glad you came with me today." "Are you ready to continue?" She nodded.

The journey to Chicago ended with their craft landing at a City Transport Station. The station was a pyramid shaped building with big glass panels on all three sides. Each was manned by a transporter tech, and could be located in various parts of every city for immediate transport to any part of each city. Each city had multiple sites, and the technology used satellites in orbit above Earth, to enhance the beam for maximum transport.

Jim and Aria jumped off the bike, and entered the credit information for the transport. The transport pad was an industrial type, which was designed for human beings and cargo. It was a much larger transporter pad than the single ones most homes had. Jim had used them many times, and the ten meter diameter seemed to be a perfect fit for Jim, Aria, and his bike.

The tech watched as Jim guided the bike onto the pad, followed closely behind by Aria. "Let's do it" Jim said as they stood closely to the bike

He watched the transporter tech as the controls were manipulated. He felt dizzy as the beam dematerialized him. Transport technology had always amazed him, and he always liked to watch from a beamed out perspective. The tech and the surrounding machinery faded away in a brilliant light, until his eyes lost it all in a sparkling shower.

The brilliance resumed, as a new transporter tech began to fade in through what seemed like the same shower of sparks, until all was clear and quiet. The new tech said "Welcome to Space Port Florida". Jim looked at Aria and said "Not so bad for a small cross country trip, huh?" to which Aria replied "these things have always kind of scared me, but I'm glad we're here."

Jim pushed the bike off the pad as Aria stepped down. She stepped forward and walked up to the large glass panel in front of her, and stood there with her jaw wide. In front of her the sky was full of spacecraft of all sizes and shapes. Some were coming in, and others were going. As she was being mesmerized by the sight of it all, Jim came up behind her and put his arm around her saying, "Quite the sight huh? Some of these ships are moving parts and materials to the space docks in space, and others are moving people and materials to Moon Base Zeta."

"Would you like to take a ride around the city, or would you like to grab a snack before Leo and Alicia get here?" "They should be here in about an hour; He isn't much on the whole transporter idea, and has always opted for what he calls real travel" Jim chuckled. Aria nodded in agreement. She hadn't known McCoy all that well, and had only met him a couple of times in her brief time together with Jim, but she agreed fully, that Lenny was a bit untrusting of technology.

Alicia then said "How about a breakfast snack?" "Sure" Jim said, "Follow me"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Borg were nothing, if not steady in their conviction to rule earth, and change history. The Queen had known this threat; "the humans" from Earth might be their eventual undoing. Janeway; Janeway of Earth had uploaded the virus through assimilation on her younger self's behalf, and had finished them.

The queen despised Janeway. She had been her nemesis since the beginning, a constant irritant, a fly speck that had to be swatted, an itch that couldn't be scratched. Yes Janeway had always been there to test her resolve, and was a constant threat to the hive, and indeed, to their very existence!

Voyager had returned through the wormhole and was now back home, but the queen was not going to give up without a fight. These thoughts seethed through her as she watched in wonder, as her body began to come apart right in front of her eyes.

The end of this battle was not here, not now, but in the past. She would put an end to technology and space travel for these humans before they even got started; no, this was not the end. She called out across space and time, to the sphere which was at this moment creating a temporal vortex.

Janeway was already falling, and was hearing the collective as the queen put her plan into motion. She knew she was done, but it didn't matter now. In her mind, she had already gotten her younger self and her crew home. It would be a different world now; Chakotay and Seven were now alive and well, she had done it! As her last mortal thought went through her mind before the assimilation was complete, she heard the queen, heard the directive, and her mind was completely assimilated as her eyes glazed over in a numbed obedience.

The Enterprise E had been ordered to patrol the neutral zone to scan for anomalies in case the Romulans decided to take advantage of the situation fast emerging with the Borg invasion. Picard had heard the voices, he had known what the borg were planning before the battle had begun. Locutus of borg had never really been entirely separated from them, and didn't wonder if the voices he was hearing now, were those of the attacking force.

Picard was notified that the fleet had engaged the borg; Star Fleet was losing the battle. There was no choice, he had a distinct advantage of knowing the enemy, and knowing their weak spots. There was really no choice; He disobeyed the direct order, and gave the order to move at high warp towards the battle.

The Admiral's ship had been destroyed, and the Star Fleet attack force was scattered and in much need of a central command. Picard did the only thing he could; he went on all channels and took control of the attack force. He directed the remaining ships to concentrate on a location on the borg cube that seemed obscure and senseless to all, a point that made no sense, but one only he knew was a vulnerability to them, having been one of them.

All of Star Fleet's remaining battle forces listened intently for the point of contact, and directed all phasers and photon torpedoes into a concentrated burst in the coordinates he had provided. "Fire" was his command, and all ships opened fire on the cube.

They heard the voices, her voice as the directive came. The hatch doors on the cube opened and the sphere erupted out of the tube as the cube exploded in a ball of flame which sent parts and pieces in all directions.

The sphere was headed straight for earth, and was creating a temporal vortex with Jean Luc Picard hot on its heels. They had seen it exit the cube before it had gone up, and Jean Luc was well aware of the treachery and capabilities the borg had, of last second come backs. He wanted to ensure this war ended here, now, so that the borg would know they were up against a formidable adversary in attacking earth!

As they closed the distance and were about to fire, the sphere opened a temporal rift. Data was quick to spot it, and Jean Luc directed him to pursue in all haste! Data engaged the engines, and the Mighty E went into swift pursuit as they entered the rift simultaneously. The Enterprise was immediately caught up in the time wake of the sphere

Data took readings of the present earth; all borg. The temporal rift had given them the benefit of being impervious to the temporal effects of time and space, all the while giving them an opportunity to gather information on what had taken place sometime in the past, to make earth a borg planet.

On the other side of the rift, Picard asked for time reference data, and soon discovered this was the timeframe of the first launch of The Phoenix, the first warp capable ship from the Earth. The borg target was the launch site (or so it appeared) somewhere in Montana, and their pulse bursts were targeting the site, in order to destroy it, and change history by assimilating earth.

The Enterprise targeted the cube and Picard gave the order to "fire". The photon torpedoes erupted from the ship and were on a direct intercept, when the pulse went out. As the sphere was coming apart, the escape pod was launched, but the trajectory was disrupted by the photon blast, and the pod was thrown clear of it's directed path. It crash landed somewhere in the Arctic with four borg on board.

The sphere exploded in spectacular fashion as the crew of the enterprise covered their eyes. It appeared as if they had completed their immediate goal of stopping the borg.

Those four were discovered with parts and pieces of their broken craft, by scientists in Archer's time, but the pulse had been sent, and the virus had been put into place. It was generated from the sphere, shot as an unperceivable wave with programmable directives, into the governmental mainframes of earth's governing bodies, and machines.

The borg plan for the future was now cemented in place...slowly over time.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

So why had Jim changed it from Star Fleet Academy in San Francisco, to Space Port Florida? McCoy pondered it for a second, but shook it off; it didn't matter really, the trip by train would be considerably shorter and they could spend more of the day together. Jim was impulsive; that was part of the draw to him. Lenny was a bit slower paced, but he loved Jim's mind for twists and turns.

McCoy and Alicia stepped onto the air train and took their seats at the Atlanta Station. The trains were a part of the world public transportation system. The pilots, drivers, and shuttle conductors had all been replaced by computer driven hardware eighty years ago on all forms of public transport, so the ride was as much a non-human thing as a transporter beam, but Lenny didn't care. The train felt like something solid he could hold onto, something from the past, even though it was no longer held by gravity, no longer had a track, and was no longer held to certain speeds to remain on a structure.

There was no more need for bridges, no more need for tunnels (although some air trains still used tunnels in some circumstances, as it reduced the time it took to go around a mountain, or a pass), and no more need of a person to start or stop it at stations. McCoy found this a bit unnerving, yet at the same time much better than having his molecules scattered like oil on water, only to be put back together somewhere else.

He always thought the tech was never quite right, and there would always be a part of himself stuck in some machine. How many times could he be scrambled like an egg, before there were parts of his anatomy which simply no longer existed, or worse yet, diluted! "Infernal machines" he grumbled out loud as he looked out the window.

The trains now always took a different route, and could easily re-route if another train was routed within 2 miles of their proximity. The central world hub computer always knew where all trains were at all times, so there was little danger of a collision in most aspects.

The locomotive at the front of the train was that in name only, as any resemblance to the locomotives of old, had disappeared many many years ago. An automated voice inside the train, and outside the terminal gave the "all aboard" call, as a computerized train whistle bellowed from the front of the train. This was also nostalgic in computer voice only, but it did give passengers a much better sense of security knowing at least something from the past still existed on the train experience.

"All doors will be closing momentarily, please keep hands and feet away from the doors" the computerized voice said in a voice only a computer can make. McCoy turned to Alicia and said "Let's get this show on the road". She just smiled.

The train lifted off vertically, then began forward momentum, at first slowly, then picking up speed as it flew 100 meters off the ground.

McCoy settled into his seat, and asked Alicia if she would like anything. "Let's have a little fun with the drink synthesizers" he said. "Computer, two Saurian Brandys please". A computer voice responded: "Saurian Brandy is an illegal beverage, please make another selection."

McCoy laughed and said "I knew you were going to say that." "Ok, two mint juleps". "Please use print I.D." said the computer's female voice. McCoy and Alicia both put their fingers on the raised pad at the center of their seat. After the scan, the computer voice came back up: "Insufficient Age for Kentucky Bourbon, adding non synthehol substitute now."

A square box emerged in front of their seat, they heard a noise, then a door opened up to reveal the non-alcoholic beverages. "Great" McCoy said, "Just what the doctor ordered, the mint without the Julep", to which Alicia laughed and said "Look at the view!"

The train was now coming up on the Appalachian Mountains, and maintained an angular trajectory adjacent to the mountains. They were now well into these mountains going at a steady speed of three hundred- ninety kilometers per hour.

The pulse virus that had happened before Jonathan Archer's time had now effectively reprogrammed borg nanites in all areas of public transit and systems world-wide at an ever progressing rate, and had not yet been identified as the culprit in any of the previous crashes around the world. There seemed to be an ever growing awareness of something with the world net, and now it tied in with foul play in the crash a year ago, of an air train crash in Idaho, which left one hundred dead in its wake.

The world government had kept most of this quiet, as they were seeking to find the answers to this ever disturbing cat and mouse game with continuing computer viruses. The viruses seemed to be getting worse with each passing month, and most of the top level computer scientists were now engaged in the fight.

Other anomalies and crashes seemed to be popping up on the news at regular intervals, but the general public's apathy had grown over the decades following the third world war, to the point of small feeds on the world news, a general glance, and dismissal. This lack of interest in the problems of others, as long as they were not directly involved, continued to be prevalent, and seemed to cloak the problem.

The locomotive housed the nerve center for the train, and all systems were tied into it's central processing unit. now the nanites were effectively shutting down systems one by one. McCoy felt a lurch as the cars jolted against each other in mid flight, and said "Uhm, I don't think it is supposed to do that". Alicia looked at him with apprehension on her face. "Do you think everything is ok up there?" McCoy responded "I'm not sure; I hope so."

Now the powerful anti-gravity cold fusion generators which kept the train aloft were failing, and the lights flickered. The steady hum of the motors was waning, and the levelers were now going offline. The front of the train now began to dive into the mountains as screams went up all throughout the train.

Lenny grabbed Alicia and shouted "HANG ON!"

The locomotive slammed into the side of the mountain with stunning force, crumpling the cars back along the train one by one, as rocks and debris exploded in a firestorm of wreckage which created a cascade of uncoupled cars, creating forward momentum on their own.

The slow motion of the crash went through McCoy's mind as their car took it's turn in the collision. Both he and Alicia were thrown from their seats, and began a spiraling washing machine motion, as the car began careening down the cliff face. McCoy's mind was trying to accept what was happening as bodies were flying through the air, including his. Glass and metal were exploding all around him, as he saw people fly past him in all directions and angles – all so surreal!

The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness, was Alicia; there was nothing he could do as she was tossed like a ragdoll through one of the side windows as his body was pushed into the seats of the cabin.

The wreckage continued as the train was in full contact with the rocks and soil now. Cars were now crashing full on in a circular angle along the face of the mountain, all of it moving rock, gravel, trees. and anything else in it's path of destruction. McCoy's car came to rest on a shelf that only held about a third of what remained of the crumpled wreck.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jim Kirk heard the news: The Alert had gone up over all the News World Stations. An air train had crashed somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains!

He had just swallowed a large gulp of orange juice, and now just about choked on it mid-swallow! McCoy and Alicia!

He jumped up and said to Aria "I have to go!" She hadn't been paying attention, as she was just hoping to get some food in her stomach, and engage in some chit chat. It had been a long morning or harrowing flight and a transport, and not a sniff of food until the last 15 minutes.

"I'm sorry Aria, can I accompany you back to the transport station?" Jim said. "No, go!" she replied, "I will transport home after breakfast". "I'm so sorry James, can I do anything else, are you sure it's their train?" she asked. He replied "No, it's probably better if I go out there alone, I can just feel it in my bones, it's theirs!". "If they are alive, I know they're going to need my help", "I'm sorry Ari, I really did want to spend the day with you", and with that, he ran out of the building in the direction of his bike.

McCoy awoke to moans of pain, and movement of the car. He looked around at what was left of the crumpled car he found himself in, and observed sea of bodies in various states of array, being scattered all over.

The car was on it's side, and creaking from movement of those who were less injured milling around, and looking for a way out. When the car came to a stop, his body ended up lying against the windows. He gingerly began checking for injuries, and realized he had come out of the crash with just a few bumps and bruises. He was bleeding on the back of his head, and had sustained a nasty gash back there (or so he assumed when he put his hand where the pain was located, and pulled back a hand full of blood).

The sudden realization of her absence came to him: ALICIA!

Kirk jumped on his bike and jammed his left foot as far forward as the lift lever would go, simultaneously doing the same with his right foot. His mind was racing as the turbines came to life, and the dizzying angular lift almost pulled his hands off the yoke!

When his body sufficiently recovered from the G-force, he pulled up the GPS on the train's last known location, leveled off at five thousand kilometers, hit the canopy button, and then continued his climb!

Most of the people in what was left of McCoy's car, had no idea the peril they were still in. The creaking McCoy had heard, was coming from the instability of the car teetering on the edge of a very deep cliff face. His first visual told him many were still either unconscious, or dead, as there was little movement from at least twenty or so in the compartment.

He had to get to Alicia! He had known that his best chance of survival was to remain in the car through the crash, but his brain began to reconstruct what had happened in the last seconds before he had blacked out, and he knew, at the very least, she was in trouble.

His scrambled brain was trying to recover; the shock of the whole thing was keeping him from making fast decisions in order to stay alive through this. The creaking began again as people were moving from the seats (now in a horizontal position), towards the windows, which they were all stepping around. It really was the only way to stand up and walk in this situation, but it was a deadly mistake as the car began to move on the cliff face.

Kirk saw smoke in the distance as he had the bike at maximum. He was thinking to himself (Hang on Leo, come ooooooon machine, we need to just get there!).

The force of the frontal crash on the car had mangled that way of exit, and the rear exit door had taken a nasty beating from the rolling, which fused those doors together, so the only real exit was either smashing windows out of the bottom (those overhanging the cliff face), or attempt to climb the seats and exit from the top. Neither option was very appealing to those still in McCoy's car, but the situation was getting worse as people came out of the seats.

Someone shouted "MOVE TOWARDS THE SEATS OR WE WILL GO OVER!" McCoy rolled over and began to get up, he began to feel a dizzying spin, his head began to pound in pain, but he kept moving. Shouts of "Help" were starting to come across the car as those who were coming around, were now feeling the effects of the crash, realizing their predicament, and understanding the hopelessness of attempting a quick exit!

Rescue transports were beginning to arrive, but the train consisted of ten passenger cars, and a locomotive that littered the mountainside. Some were coming from Atlanta, and still others were arriving from other parts of the country.

As the transports began beaming rescuers to the surface within one hundred meters of the train cars, the race was on for life!

McCoy watched as a disoriented passenger was exiting a seat, stepped onto the cracked glass totally by accident, and went right through it. He saw the surprised look on the man's face, as he plunged to his death. There was little he could do, but watch. He felt so helpless, but also he was fighting his own fear of the whole thing going over.

Someone else tried to maintain calm throughout the car, but this last guy going through and falling was making a bad situation worse. People were now scrambling for footholds on the floor, and leaning into the seats. The climbing was starting also, as people began punching holes in the spider webbed windows.

The mass panic was starting to pick up pace, when the car began to shift again. Silence filled the car, except for a few screams that went up.

Phaser fire was heard, and the sound of fizzling metal began, as one of the rescue transports had arrived at their car, and was cutting through to get a positive lock. The radiation put out by the train's smashed anti-grav levelers were distorting the beam, so transport lock was impossible without opening up part of the panel around the window frames, at what was now the top of the car.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Drones

The crash had been fierce; their escape pod was damaged beyond repair in any flight capacity, and they had lost all contact with the collective. Two of the four had not survived the crash. The debris field had covered an area of a half a square mile as the sphere littered the landscape.

All four were thrown from the craft as the impact was destructive enough to have ripped their pod in half. The borg autonomic systems began to engage, as the individual systems in their body suits came to life as they came to a rest in the snow.

The two that had survived the crash, lay silently as their diagnostics began to run. Cracked ribs, broken bones, a few lacerations, but otherwise repairable. The other two remained motionless as well, their bio-readings registering negligible with fractured pieces of their craft protruding from various parts of their bodies.

The nanites went to work as the snow and wind blew; the two survivor's bodies lay unmoving, eyes directed skyward. The wait began as the nanites directed each, to remain dormant as repairs to the bio-life part of their bodies were assessed, and one by one treated and repaired in a fraction of normal healing time for any other species.

Within two hours, each stood erect, and continued the task of regeneration as they worked. The remaining two were unmoving; their bodies being kept warm by re-circulators generated by the power nodules attached to their borg enhanced bodies.

The first directive each had when detached from the collective, was to harvest all the power modules from the other two in order to survive and carry on the mission. The mission directives had been breif; the instructions from the queen downloaded just in time to come under photon torpedo fire from the Enterprise, but the directive had now been cast.

Zero one moved toward zero four, and zero three moved toward zero two. The nanites were communicating end of life signals from each body, so each of them took one, and began removing any power packs, and cell regenerators until only unusable technology remained. The bodies were already cooling down, but most of the technology remained intact. This would improve survivability for the remaining two as they stored these in insulated containers, and then moved toward the wreckage.

As they approached the battered pod, they could see that the communications array, and the pulse generator were still useable, but damaged. Zero one extended his left arm, and two nanite tentacles extended from the back of his hand, into two electrode nodules in the panel.

Lights flickered on, and immediately diagnostics began to come to life with a small hum. The communications array immediately went to work, locating the primitive earth technology through the satellite uplink. They could use this technology, and add it to their own. Zero one and Zero three could still hear the hum of the queen's song, as the link up soon located the nanites doing their work in the computer systems of this world, via the satellite systems overhead.

Zero three began the task of accessing the pulse technology for a transport by accessing the pulse generator, and the most likely place to survive and assimilate. The pulse had infected earth's computer systems with the queen's directives imprinted on the nanites, and both drones were now receiving instruction via code on directive number two.

Zero three received zero one's response that his data download was now complete, so both began the process of removing technology from all access ports, power nodules, and various remaining parts of the debris field that was once their escape sphere.

The next task was to take all the necessary remaining intact technology for making a regeneration alcove, and begin transporting it to the new coordinates.

Zero three studied a display screen that showed power schematics, and underground passages known as sewer passageways under the city known as New York. The nanites had given informative data about temperate atmosphere, and ample access to the power grid that would accommodate the new collective here on this world.

The nanites had instructed them to pick a specific location under one of the highest buildings, which drew enough power, to build alcoves, and assimilate the species (Directive number three). Zero three continued scanning, and found the location. It was a substation located below a main terminal for an inter-city air train station, and also below one of the tallest buildings there.

Zero one by now, had the first shipment pile assembled for transport just behind Zero three. One by one, the transports began as the zig zag motion of the transport dazzled in Zero one's blank stare.

Once in place, directive number four was to assimilate the species one by one; mostly the homeless and destitute who had for all time, been the scourge of the earth, and many other countless worlds. They would continue this directive quietly assimilating an army of drones, including any unwary stragglers in the dark alleyways of the night.

Using the transport technology, ever building the hive collective, directive five would be to begin the assimilation process in all cities of two hundred thousand people or more by the same process using earth's own technology. Invade the hidden sewers, build alcoves and the borg ranks with the weak, and continue the process. It would take time, almost 200 years for the collective of the 24th century to come to Earth, but by then, Earth would be borg: All Borg!

The snow began to fall harder now, so the task ahead was to get the final shipment ready and sent. Zero three had disassembled all remaining power nodes, and powered up the transporter beam. It locked on to both, and they soon rematerialized somewhere under the concrete and buildings in New York City, 2063.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10: Discovery – Archer's time.

Rooney, who had made the initial discovery of the crash site, had no idea the fire they were playing with. The technology was like nothing they had yet seen; it was all over inside these beings. The lab had been set up, and the testing was underway, to discover just exactly "what" these humanoid things were, and more importantly, where they had come from.

The fools had stumbled onto something they couldn't control. Moniger was the first of the three scientists to be assimilated when the reanimation process jolted one of the dead borg corpses, back to life. Drake and Rooney soon followed after discovering Moniger laying on the floor gasping for breath.

Star Fleet received the message that the arctic station had gone dark. To the earther's, the genie was out of the bottle, and all hell was breaking loose. The borg at the arctic station outpost had acquired a transport, and using one of the warp coils the arctic science team had found, integrated it, were in space, and were now developing a transceiver using sub space technology, in order to transmit to the Delta Quadrant.

Archer's team was now informed by Star Fleet, that a freighter was under attack in the same area, and plotted an intercept course. Jonathan's apprehension was growing rapidly, and he ordered "Engage!" The Enterprise NX-01 banked hard to the right, as her warp engines rapidly whined into the pitch everyone onboard had come to know; maximum warp!

Upon arrival, they were astonished to see how much the transport had changed from the original specifications they were accustomed to, according to the records of that ship. It looked, modified, eerie, even terrifying and totally alien to the crew as they took it all in on the view-screen. It had been armored with hull plating of some sort, and it even looked like the ship itself was somehow, alive!

Archer ordered weapons at the ready, and the phase cannons dropped out from under the saucer section immediately as if they were sentient, as he gave the order to fire! The transport broke off the attack, and vanished in a warp field that left trans-warp particles swirling in space.

He then ordered a rescue party to board the freighter, and lend assistance and medical care to all of the injured. He couldn't have known what he was bringing on his ship, but Archer was no fool. He retired to his ready room, and was reading about Zephram Cochran's famous speech in which he described the time of his launch, and humans from the future. Cochran explained that the humans had gone back in time following an alien race of cybernetic organic beings who had planned on taking over the entire earth.

"Could these be those same beings?" Archer wondered out loud, or was it the imaginings of one of Cochran's drunken stories? In his mind, the similarities to the pictures he had seen in the Star Fleet Data-base, began to make the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up!

Dr. Phlox had informed him of his findings about an hour ago regarding the nanites, their capability to totally take over a body, and reprogram it both physically, and mentally: "Total transformation". It left him cold.

Archer was called to an emergency in sick bay, and upon arriving, found a team working on the now unconscious Phlox. To his shock, Archer noticed Phlox had two marks on the side of his neck that were changing in color, and spreading. The two assimilated Tarkaleans were now somewhere on His ship, Phlox was infected, and now he was just informed phase pistols were ineffective against their shielding ( as they accessed a panel near engineering), and his ship was dropping out of warp.

In their attempt to reacquire the transport before the modifications the borg were making gave it the ability to outdistance Enterprise even at maximum, Archer had ordered a pursuit course at maximum warp using the trans warp signature trail left by them in their haste to escape!

There now was no choice, his shipboard weapons couldn't stop them; they were taking down his ship and possibly his crew. He gave the order to evacuate the area and close all access hatches. As soon as his crew gave the all clear, he ordered Lieutenant Reed to blow the hatch. Reed accessed a panel, and pulled a black and yellow caution lever as the shock of the blown hatch into space left him grasping for balance. The two drones were jettisoned into space as the automatic hydraulics began their slow closing and latching of the outer hatch.

Archer was now convinced the scientists who had been Moniger, Drake, and Rooney, were all now expendable. There really was no salvaging them, no bringing them back – they were already dead in his mind, and certainly an imminent danger to Him, His crew, and Earth in its entirety. He must not allow them to reconnect with, or get back to wherever they were going, and it was imperative they be stopped at all costs.

The warp engines were now back online and engaged.

As the NX-01 came up on the transport, they notice that it had been further enhanced, and had almost outclassed them in speed. It was now or never: "FIRE" came the order as their weapons came to bear on the failing EPS manifold on the now borg vessel.

The transport dropped out of warp, but has initiated a signal that has effectively sabotaged Enterprise's main power including weapons via the access panel, and the re-routing of circuits by the two borg earlier. The hunter had now become the prey, as the transport was making a turn in space back toward them and a transmission was now coming in; "We are the borg, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile".

The blasts from the transport were slowly wearing down the NX-01's hull plating as each blast meticulously drained the power to those areas of the ship. Tucker was doing his best, but he was losing the battle when Archer got the idea to board her with explosive mines.

The ensuing battle continued as Archer and Reed transported to the borg vessel to confirm what Archer had already known: there was no saving anyone here. They planted the explosives after a fight, transported back, and found they were also boarded and under attack!

Tucker had by now rerouted circuits, and the main power, hull plating, and weapons were coming back online. The drones received a signal, and transported off Enterprise just as Archer ordered every weapon they had to target that EPS manifold on the borg craft! Enterprise opened up with phase cannons and torpedoes in a volley that found it's mark. The mines went off inside the transport exterminating all life within it!

Archer's detailed account of what had transpired that day, along with the data collected from the lab at the arctic station, added to Star Fleet's knowledge of the borg, their capabilities, and their overall mission to assimilate earth.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11: Chaos

The rescuer called out "Stand back" as the phaser fire line had come within six inches of finishing the hole being cut in the outer casing of the passenger car as McCoy looked on. When it was within a half inch, the panel came crashing into the cabin, and landed with a thud, as the last of the metal buckled under the weight.

The rush towards the new exit began with a crush of the remaining passengers, as the rescue continued.

Lenny watched as those at the front began dematerializing in the transport beams. "They must have finally gotten a solid lock with those human egg scramblers" muttered McCoy, as he began to wait his turn for the inevitable beam out. "Oh Joy" he mumbled.

Kirk had arrived, and was meticulously scanning each car for his friend. He slowed now, to almost zero hover speed, as he went from car to car. "McCoy" he called out, as his craft was now just inches from each demolished car on the mountainside; each car being eliminated from his search pattern.

As he looked about the landscape, he saw the devastation of the crash: Smoldering ruin, smoke, fizzle material oozing from cars along the mountainside, and the sheer wreckage of this crash. Many of the trees and scrub brush were now on fire, hindering the rescue efforts.

He could now see the beam ins, and beam outs of rescuers using the transporters beams of the rescue transports, to get into better position to access each car. The topography of the land, as well as the position of each car on the mountainside, was being scanned and used for reference points for the beams.

Then Jim noticed one car in a very peculiar situation, and instinctively knew; if Lenny was anywhere, that car was the one he'd be on. He saw the transport hovering over the wreckage and noticed the access hole, but the car was lying precipitously close to the edge of a staggering drop, and almost appeared to be moving.

The transportation process was taking too long, and the constant vibration of shuffling weight on the floor was beginning to make its mark on the movement of the car on the cliff face. Suddenly the level four transports directly over many of these cars, began to lose power. These transports, it appeared, were under attack by something too!

Jim sped up as he watched the process, as he knew he was running out of time. He hovered his bike right over the windows, scanned quickly, and locked eyes with McCoy. "Jim!" he shouted, the hope in his eyes giving him away.

There was no time to think about what was happening, Kirk couldn't believe it; what was going on with these ships and the train? His thought gave way to fear as he saw that happened next.

"McCoy!" Jim shouted. Lenny looked up to see Jim pointing straight down, and his bike dropping like a rock. He moved into action and was now hopping across the car away from the remaining passengers, to the window where he had seen the man drop to his death earlier.

He began kicking out the glass to avoid more cuts when he looked up through the glass in time to see the lights of the transport flicker, and go out. Things seemed to go in slow motion for Lenny now, as the transport began to move downward in the air, the heavier end of the craft crushing the compartment where the rescue was under way. Now the remaining part of the transport began coming down at horrifying speed as it crushed the car all along its length!

McCoy spun his head around just in time to see the bottom of the transport coming down on him. He quickly turned back to the window, tucked his arms, and jumped!

The free-falling transport crushed the top of the car just as McCoy's head had cleared the window on the bottom. The screams could be heard inside the transport as he watched the transport and the entire car now free falling only 30 meters behind him. "Grab my hand!" Kirk said as the bike came up underneath him. McCoy grabbed past Kirk's hand, and onto his shoulder with a grip of steel, and swung in behind him.

Kirk gently spooled up the engine, and veered left and away from the falling wreckage, and they both watched in horror, as the car, the transport, and everyone aboard continued its plummet into the abyss with loud explosions from this crash, and now others as these transports went down in flames!

Neither of these young men could have imagined this scene unfolding before them, as the other transports, and their passengers, crashed into the cars, and all of them rolling down the side of the mountain. People were spilling out of the car's windows now, and being crushed to death under the pure carnage taking place.

Large pine trees were being broken off like matchsticks, some piercing the metal of both the train cars, and the transports, as they toppled over and over each other on the way down. It might have been entertaining, had it been one of the "feelie" movies now popular with teens, but this was reality they were witnessing, and it was beyond their ability to comprehend it!

"Alicia!" McCoy shouted; in the life or death struggle, he had forgotten about her, and now had the overwhelming urge to jump off the bike, and run to her, had his senses not gotten the best of him in the reality that he was now a thousand meters above the abyss.

"Jim, we have to find her, and help these people" he shouted. Jim shouted back, "I think we need to wait until this all stops". "What else could we do", McCoy mumbled back. There really was nothing they could do, until this all ended, so they sat there, hovering in silence as it all unfolded before their eyes.


End file.
